PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/Patent

How to Cite a Patent in MLA 9

An MLA 9 Works Cited entry for a patent gives the inventor's last name and first name, the patent's title in italics and title case, US and the patent number as the patent prints it, the United States Patent and Trademark Office as the publisher, and the date the patent was issued, written day, month, year (15 Apr. 2014). If you found it online, put a comma after the date and add the URL: 15 Apr. 2014, patents.google.com/patent/US8697359B1. The in-text citation is the inventor's last name: (Zhang).

The format

Last Name, First Name. Title of the Patent. US X,XXX,XXX B1, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Day Mon. Year, patents.google.com/patent/USXXXXXXXB1.

PERRLA MLA Experts ยท Updated October 30, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Paste the patent's Google Patents link into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA reads the page and builds a Patent reference with the inventors, the title, the patent number with its commas, the dates, and the link. It leaves companies, universities, and institutes out of the inventor list, because they own the patent but didn't invent it. Before you save, compare the inventors, the title, and the issue date with the patent's front page: Google Patents sometimes lists older names last name first, a suffix like Jr. can land in the wrong box, and a company name PERRLA doesn't recognize can slip in as an inventor. The search also fills in the number without its letter code, so add the B1 or B2 in Patent Number if the front page shows one.

Adding one by hand? Choose Patent (under Legal References). Add each inventor as an Individual Author (person), in the order the patent lists them, with any Jr. or III in the suffix box. Fill in the Patent Name, and type the Patent Number exactly as it appears in the patent, like 8,697,359 B1. PERRLA adds the US in front. Put the full date from "Date of Patent" in Year Patent Issued, and paste the Google Patents link in URL. PERRLA puts the title in italics and title case and uses et al. for three or more inventors.

Look up
Paste a Google Patents link, get the reference

https://patents.google.com/patent/US8697359B1

Zhang, Feng. CRISPR-Cas Systems and Methods for Altering Expression of Gene Products. US 8,697,359 B1, United States Patent and Trademark Office, 15 Apr. 2014, patents.google.com/patent/US8697359B1.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Inventors (the authors)

MLA's author is the person primarily responsible for the work, and for a patent that's the inventor, named on the front page after "Inventor" or "Inventors." Write the first inventor's last name, a comma, and the first name as the patent prints it. Two inventors: invert only the first, then and and the second name. Three or more: the first inventor, a comma, and et al.

Lau, Jesper, et al.

A suffix like Jr. follows the first name, set off by commas: New, William, Jr., and James E. Corenman. MLA's patent answer says to list the patent's owner, and in its example the inventor owns the patent himself. When a company or university is named after "Assignee" or "Applicant," it holds the rights, but the inventors are the people primarily responsible for the work, so they go in the author spot.

2. Title of the patent

The patent is a document published on its own, so its title goes in italics and title case, followed by a period. The printed patent sets its title in all capitals, so retype it. Keep acronyms like CRISPR and GLP-1 in capitals, and keep a word like mRNA the way it's normally written.

CRISPR-Cas Systems and Methods for Altering Expression of Gene Products.

3. Patent number

Write US and the number the way the front page prints it after "Patent No.," commas included. Newer patents end with a letter code (B1 or B2); MLA's own patent example keeps that code, so copy it. A comma follows.

US 8,697,359 B1,

US 4,653,498,

A number like US 2009/0156478 A1 belongs to a published patent application, not a granted patent. If the invention was later granted, cite the granted patent, which lists the earlier application under "Prior Publication Data."

4. Patent office (the publisher)

The office that issued the patent is the publisher. MLA's example writes it out in full, followed by a comma.

United States Patent and Trademark Office,

5. Date issued

Give the full date the patent was issued (granted), from "Date of Patent" on the front page, not the date it was filed. Write it day, month, year, and abbreviate months longer than four letters. A period follows, or a comma when the URL comes next. Older patents print the date at the top ("Patented Oct. 9, 1923").

15 Apr. 2014.

The gap can be years. Zhang's CRISPR patent was filed in 2013 and issued in 2014, and Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 patent was filed in 2006 and issued in 2012.

6. URL

If you read the patent online, put a comma after the issue date, then the URL without the https://, ending with a period. A Google Patents link is short and stable, and it's the one PERRLA can look up.

15 Apr. 2014, patents.google.com/patent/US8697359B1.

Examples

One inventor, filed one year and issued the next: Zhang's CRISPR patent

Feng Zhang's patent on using CRISPR-Cas systems to edit genes in eukaryotic cells, a landmark for genetics and precision medicine courses. It was filed October 15, 2013, and issued April 15, 2014, so the entry gives 15 Apr. 2014. The Broad Institute and MIT own it, and neither one goes in the author spot.

  • In-text citation(Zhang)
  • Narrative citationZhang's patent describes …

Two inventors and a company that owns the patent: an mRNA vaccine

Moderna's patent on mRNA vaccines against betacoronaviruses, the virus family that includes the ones behind MERS and COVID-19. The front page names ModernaTX as the applicant and the assignee, but the authors are the two inventors, Giuseppe Ciaramella and Sunny Himansu. It was filed February 28, 2020, and issued July 7, 2020. In MLA form, the title keeps mRNA lowercase: Betacoronavirus mRNA Vaccine.

  • In-text citation(Ciaramella and Himansu)
  • Narrative citationCiaramella and Himansu describe …

Three inventors and a six-year wait: Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 patent

A Novo Nordisk patent on acylated GLP-1 compounds, the class of drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes. It names three inventors, so the entry and the in-text citation use the first inventor and et al. Its international application was filed March 20, 2006, and the U.S. patent was issued March 6, 2012. The application was published in 2009 as US 2009/0156478 A1, but the granted patent is what you cite.

  • In-text citation(Lau et al.)
  • Narrative citationLau et al. describe …

An inventor with a suffix: the pulse oximeter monitor

Nellcor's patent on a pulse oximeter monitor, the bedside device every nursing student learns to read. The first inventor is William New, Jr., so Jr. follows his first name in the entry and stays out of the in-text citation. The front page prints the number with no letter code, so the entry gives US 4,653,498. It was filed May 20, 1986, and issued March 31, 1987.

  • In-text citation(New and Corenman)
  • Narrative citationNew and Corenman describe …

In-text citations

An MLA 9 in-text citation for a patent is the inventor's last name. Most in-text citations for a patent are the name alone, with no page and no year. A suffix like Jr. never appears in the citation.

  • One inventor: (Zhang)
  • Two inventors: both last names joined by and: (Ciaramella and Himansu)
  • Three or more: the first inventor and et al.: (Lau et al.)
  • A suffix in the entry: (New and Corenman)
  • Name in your sentence: no parentheses needed: Zhang's patent describes CRISPR-Cas systems that edit genes in eukaryotic cells.

Citing a company's invention? Name the company in your sentence and cite the inventors: Moderna's betacoronavirus vaccine patent (Ciaramella and Himansu).

Common mistakes

  • Zhang, F. (2014). CRISPR-Cas systems and methods for altering expression of gene products (U.S. Patent No. 8,697,359).Zhang, Feng. CRISPR-Cas Systems and Methods for Altering Expression of Gene Products. US 8,697,359 B1, United States Patent and Trademark Office, 15 Apr. 2014.That's APA. MLA spells out the first name, uses title case, gives the number without the parentheses, and puts the full issue date after the patent office.
  • Zhang, Feng. CRISPR-Cas Systems and Methods for Altering Expression of Gene Products. U.S. Patent No. 8,697,359,Zhang, Feng. CRISPR-Cas Systems and Methods for Altering Expression of Gene Products. US 8,697,359 B1,MLA's patent example gives US and the number as the patent prints it, with no Patent No. label and no periods in US.
  • United States Patent and Trademark Office, 15 Oct. 2013.United States Patent and Trademark Office, 15 Apr. 2014.The date is when the patent was issued, from "Date of Patent" on the front page. The filing date comes earlier, and it isn't the patent's publication date.
  • Zhang, Feng. CRISPR-CAS SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ALTERING EXPRESSION OF GENE PRODUCTS.Zhang, Feng. CRISPR-Cas Systems and Methods for Altering Expression of Gene Products.Patents print their titles in all capitals. MLA uses title case, so retype the title and keep full capitals only for acronyms.
  • Lau, Jesper, et al. Acylated GLP-1 Compounds. US 2009/0156478 A1,Lau, Jesper, et al. Acylated GLP-1 Compounds. US 8,129,343 B2,A number with a slash and A1 belongs to a published application, not a granted patent. Once the patent is granted, cite its patent number and the date it was issued.

Quick checklist

  • Inventors as authors, not the company that owns the patent
  • First inventor inverted, full first name, et al. for three or more
  • Title in italics and title case, retyped from the all-caps original
  • US and the number as the front page prints it
  • United States Patent and Trademark Office, then the full issue date
  • The URL after the date if you read it online
  • In text: the inventors' last names, no year

Questions students ask

Do I use the date a patent was filed or the date it was issued?

The date it was issued. On the front page of a U.S. patent, that's the date after "Date of Patent" (on very old patents, the "Patented" line at the top). MLA gives the full date, day, month, and year: 15 Apr. 2014.

Who is the author of a patent: the inventor or the company?

List the inventors named on the front page. MLA's patent answer says to list the patent's owner, and its example is an inventor who owns his own patent. When a company, university, or institute is the assignee, it holds the rights, but the inventors are the people primarily responsible for the work. List them in the order the patent gives them, with et al. after the first when there are three or more.

Do I italicize a patent's title in MLA?

Yes. A patent is a document published on its own, like a book or a report, so its title goes in italics and title case. Retype it from the all-caps version on the front page.

Where do I find a patent's number and details?

Search Google Patents (patents.google.com) or the USPTO's Patent Public Search by number, title, or inventor. The front page of the patent has everything the entry needs: the inventors, the title, the patent number, and the date of patent. Google Patents also links to a PDF of the full patent.

Does a patent need a URL in MLA?

If you read it online, yes: put a comma after the issue date and add the URL without the https://, like patents.google.com/patent/US8697359B1. If you read a printed copy, end the entry after the issue date.

Rules checked against the MLA Style Center's answer "How do I cite a patent?" (inventor, title, US and the number, the patent office as publisher, the issue date, and the URL; marked as eighth-edition content) and its answer on abbreviating United States, and the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (the core elements, titles, containers, and dates) and chapter 6 (in-text citations). Every example verified against the front page of the issued patent (the PDF from Google Patents) and its Google Patents record: US 8,697,359 B1 (Date of Patent Apr. 15, 2014), US 10,702,600 B1 (Jul. 7, 2020), US 8,129,343 B2 (Mar. 6, 2012), and 4,653,498 (Mar. 31, 1987).

PERRLA looks up a patent from its Google Patents link and builds the Works Cited entry with the inventors, the italic title, and the patent number.

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